State Assembly candidate Betsy Butler and her supporters criticized Torie Osborn’s campaign for recruiting people to join the ﻿Malibu Democratic Club﻿ so they could vote for her in Sunday’s endorsement election. Osborn supporters say Butler’s camp is being hypocritical because it had encouraged people to “join as many of the Dem clubs as possible” through a mass email. Butler told Patch that the two situations are different because nobody has offered to pay for her supporters to join the organizations. One person submitted a $1,000 check last month to the Malibu club to cover the expenses of about 40 Osborn supporters’ memberships, club President Jean Goodman told Patch. Osborn ﻿ won the Malibu club’s endorsement for the Assembly’s 50th District seat﻿ on Sunday after receiving 41 votes following a forum featuring the three Democratic candidates. Five people chose Butler, none picked Richard Bloom and 13 club members wanted there to be no endorsement. “The thing that’s most concerning here is that one person wrote a check for 42 members,” Butler told Patch on Monday. “How hard is it to join a club if somebody’s writing the check for you?” Goodman has declined to name the person who submitted the check. She said the name would be revealed when the club files its next financial report with the California Secretary of State’s Office. When asked by Patch about this issue on Sunday, Osborn said her campaign “organized some people to either re-up [their memberships] or join,” but said she personally had nothing to do with it. Several Osborn supporters forwarded the email from Butler’s campaign to Patch. The email states: Join as many of the Dem clubs as possible (for most of the clubs, the only requirement to join is that you be a registered Democrat. For instance, you do not necessarily need to live in the Pacific Palisades to join the ﻿Pacific Palisades Democratic Club ﻿ ) … Ask as many friends as you can to also join and attend as many Dem clubs as possible. Osborn supporter Dante Atkins, who is a vice chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party , wrote to Patch, ”The complaints from Betsy Butler’s surrogates about the Malibu Democratic Club endorsement process are the height of hypocrisy.” Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . More: Osborn Supporters Accuse Butler of Hypocrisy

The three major candidates vying for California’s newly formed 50th Assembly District , which includes Beverly Hills, are in favor of the growing “Occupy” movement , Patch exclusively reports. The grassroots protest is railing against corporate profits, worker layoffs, the existing federal-tax structure and other issues. Occupy Los Angeles, which is happening downtown, was launched roughly two weeks ago in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street in New York, which began about a month ago. “I support Occupy Los Angeles in their efforts to peacefully demonstrate to express their values and discontent,” Assemblywoman Betsy Butler , D-Marina del Rey, told Patch. ”The Occupy movement has grown out of a frustration that so many hardworking Americans are not benefiting from the resources enjoyed by Wall Street and the most fortunate amongst us.” Torie Osborn also stands behind the protesters. “Everyday people rising up to say ‘NO MORE’ to inequality is an honored American tradition. It can magnetize an unstoppable social movement for real change,” Osborn told Patch. ”I embrace this outpouring of students and veterans and teachers—and so many more—fed up with radical inequality and unfair taxation in the richest country in human history.” Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom told Patch that he “absolutely” supports the movement. “As a grassroots expression of people’s concerns and outrage over what’s happening in the country and world, it’s pretty remarkable,” he said. This article originally appeared on Santa Monica Patch. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . More here: Assembly Candidates Back ‘Occupy’ Movement

Once part of the 42nd Assembly District under the representation of Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), redistricting has placed Beverly Hills in the newly formed 50th Assembly District along with West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, D-Marina del Rey, is the latest candidate to enter the race for the 50th Assembly District seat. The election takes place Nov. 6, 2012. Butler, a Democrat, currently represents the 53rd Assembly District. She won the race for that seat in November 2010, her first election. Her primary opponents appear to be Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom and Torie Osborn—a liberal activist backed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Having lived in Marina del Rey for 20 years, Butler said she currently represents 1.7 percent of the constituents in the new 50th Assembly District. “I am considered the incumbent in the 50th district,” she told The Argonaut . Regardless, Butler said she will move north to run in the new district. It is unclear exactly which city she has in mind. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . See the original post: Beverly Hills to Enter New Assembly District